Luxuries in Light: James Beebe Hawes

Keep reading to learn how James Beebe Hawes of Virgina based design firm Caldwell- Beebe creates “effortless, unstudied, and natural” spaces infused with global inspiration and just the right hue of paint.

What do you do, or where do you go, for inspiration?

We all get flat from time to time – design burnout I call it. I travel a lot and travel to keep my eyes “new”. I am a lover of islands – because of the incredible play of light, the sea colors and brilliant tropical vegetation. St. Barth is a favorite of mine. I also find the color and architecture of the Far East to be invigorating. Ever visit a native market in Vietnam? It’s an amazing mix of shapes and color in one place. And when it comes to décor – nothing can beat a trip to Venice, Marrakesch, or Kyoto (except maybe a trip to Paris!). Traveling always fills my mind with new possibilities that help me keep fresh when designing new spaces for clients.

What is your favorite furniture piece of all time? How were you able to use it in a particular project.

My favorite furniture piece is John Saladino’s three leg coffee table (see above). It’s unexpected, chic, terribly practical (with its distressed, chipped, Thosis marble top), and timeless in appeal. Dressed up or down, it is always is a show stopper. I used it in a glass walled apartment where it simply defined the space serving as a foil for a wonderful early 19 century Swedish marriage desk and grounded the room. This table always provides a note of (unexpected) bravado style. I wish I’d of come up with it!

What do you feel are lasting, timeless palettes that still feel fresh and up-to-the minute?

In two words,“soft neutrals.” Near-white naturals, camels, tans and grays always seem elegant and fresh. They have great “staying power”.

Why do you think a well chosen paint color is critical to the success of a room design?

The right paint color defines the “atmosphere” of a room, and “connects” it to other spaces so that a home feels cohesive. Paint sets the stage for all of the other elements to come together cohesively – it’s the “glue” of a room scheme.

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What are the top 3 factors you take into consideration when choosing a paint color?

Client preference, of course. You can never succeed trying to force “Benjamin Moore Showtime 923” on a client who hates yellow. Clients have definite likes and dislikes – you can try to educate them – but convincing a client to love a color that they’ve hated since childhood is a lose/lose proposition.

Room exposure. Nothing is more critical to the success of a room paint scheme than light, and natural light, in particular. A paint that works beautifully in a room with a cool Northern exposure may “die” in a hot “Western light. You also have to be very sensitive to reflected color from shrubbery or trees that can “turn” an otherwise perfect color into a dreadful one.

Mood. Human beings are profoundly affected by color. Certain colors evoke calm, others invigorate – you have to be sensitive to the mood you’re after, and chose your palette accordingly.

What is your method for combining antiques and new pieces together?

I wish I could say I had a formula – but for me it’s pretty much intuition, combined with the ability to find (or create) visual or emotional linkages that let old and new pieces work together. The result should look “effortless”, unstudied, and natural. You have to be very alert to the differences in scale and proportion between antique and new furniture, as well as the finishes. Some of the best reproduction furniture out there just doesn’t look “comfortable” mixed in with the real thing. (We call it “not playing well with others”.) I think it’s easier to blend the two types of furniture if you work with mostly new upholstered pieces, using antiques for pull up chairs, occasional tables, commodes and mirrors. I also think it helps to add contemporary art to the mix. Without it, a mix of old and new can seem “strained”.

How do you perceive design today: as catalyst for lifestyle change or as reaction to it, or both?

A little of both. Today’s design has liberated us from a lot of things that got in the way of a more relaxed lifestyle: more stable (and less environmentally harmful) interior paint, innovative textile technology (e.g. Nanotex, new “green fibers”), and low or no maintenance furniture finishes. Because of the pace and complexity of our lives, consumers demanded things that would simplify their lives. Today, we see it all around us.

What will be different about the interior design industry in five years?

Fewer choices and a more challenging environment. Time-honored fabric, furniture and antiques purveyors strained by the new economic reality are dropping like flies, and they simply can’t be replaced. Even more disturbing is that we’re losing forever the traditional craftsmen that made it possible to create the custom tailored environment our clients have grown to expect. We can’t achieve the great interiors we’re expected to produce with mass market product. So in a word or two, in five years we’ll be having to doing “more” with less and being more inventive when it comes to resources. There’s also the whole issue of sustainability, the environment and regulation that will keep us on our toes, and I’m afraid, make interior design a more complex industry.